From the Kansas State Historical Society website:

"African American soldiers were rare during the Civil War, and black officers almost non-existent. Thirty years later, Major John Brown from Topeka led soldiers to Cuba during the Spanish-American War using this saber."

From the Kansas State Historical Society website:

"Construction of the Kansas statehouse can be considered a miracle of manpower. In the 1880s a young Swedish immigrant was at the center of this massive building project. Learn how he used these tools to construct the people's house before building his own."

From the Bowery Boys website:

"You hear the name Mark Twain and think of his classic characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, his locales along the Mississippi River and his folksy wit. But he was equal parts New York as well, and the city helped shape his sharp, flamboyant character. Follow his course, from his first visit as an opinionated young man in 1853, to his later years in 1906 as a Fifth Avenue tenant, decked out with a cigar and signature white suit.

His tale offers a glimpse into the glamorous life of turn-of-the-century New York, from the smoke-filled billiard room at the Players Club to late nights at New York's dining palace Delmonico's. Tune in and find out which parts of Mark Twain's city are still around and which of his old homes you can still visit today.

With co-stars Ulysses S. Grant, Helen Keller, Artemus Ward, and the frog that helped make Samuel Clemens famous."

From the Library of Congress website:

"Maurice Hamonneau, a French legionnaire and the last survivor of an artillery attack near Verdun in the First World War, lay wounded and unconscious for hours after the battle. When he regained his senses, he found that a copy of the 1913 French pocket edition of Kim by Rudyard Kipling had deflected a bullet and saved his life by a mere twenty pages."

This short video tells the story of Maurice and, more importantly, the novel that saved his life.

From the Kansas State Historical Society website:

"Imagine a world in which the living commune with the dead. Most people today find that a bizarre concept, but 100 years ago it was a fun pastime for the Wichita family who used this Ouija board.

Behind-the-scenes: Staff members describe creepy artifacts in our collection."

From the Kansas State Historical Society website:

"J.P. Morgan was a powerful man who held vast wealth and controlled finance and transportation around the United States. Should one man be so powerful? Political cartoonist Albert Reid didn't think so, and expressed his distaste in this antitrust cartoon."

From the Kansas State Historical Society:

"There are many symbols for the United States. Perhaps the strongest national personification is the character known around the world as "Uncle Sam." This military recruiting poster has been widely reproduced and caricatured since World War I."

From the Kansas State Historical Society website:

"In honor of Memorial Day, we consider a service flag that was proudly displayed by a Kansas family during World War I. Their son was serving his country 'over there'."